Editing organazized – Alex Gollner's 2007-2013 blog

Magic Lantern HDR Compose: Free Final Cut Pro X generator

Magic Lantern is a system for adding features to Canon DSLRs, Unified is a recent ML package enables some cameras to shoot footage that can processed to produce content with a larger exposure range – i.e. High Dynamic Range.

The files produced are made up of alternate frames of under- and over-exposed footage. My new generators take these frames and give you the control to define how the overexposed frames are overlayed on top of the underexposed frames.

For more information on Unified and Magic Lantern and the software to for your Canon DSLR, visit the Wiki

December 2012:I’ve replaced the generators that were here with a single effect.

Yeah! We can change the interpolation of the elements in our timeline by easing in and out the position, scale and orientation. This effect will give movement in our projects a more natural feel. Great for working with graphics! 😀

1. In the timeline, apply the Strobe effect (Duration: 2) to your source footage on v1. This will make v1 show the underexposed frames only (at half the frame rate).
2. Option-drag the video layer upwards to make a copy of the footage on v2.
3. Trim one frame off the front off the copy on v2, and move it back one frame to line up with v1. This will make the clip on v2 show only the overexposed frames.

How you then combine the two layers depends on your HDR method of choice – in some cases a luma key works:

4. Apply the Luma Key effect (Final, Key Out Brighter, Copy to Alpha, 20, 100) to v2 so that it only shows the bright parts of the image you want to overlay onto v1.

As I’m more of an FCP user than an HDR expert, you might want to search for other composition methods elsewhere on the internet.

Carmel said: 9 January, 20129:04 pm

Hi Alex,

thanks again for the workflow suggested to fcp 7.
It worked just fine with preparing the two layers.
What you suggested with LUMA Key Effect creates a “milky” kind of image.
If anyone working with FCP 7 has an idea to that one?
(combining the two layers).

Hi Alex,
Please help me with the problem. How do I proceed after dragging the generator onto ML footage in project timeline ? It gets replaced by generator and I am not getting any window which shows the overexposed frames. Please help me. Thank You.

Hi Alex,
If say I want to use a slow motion tool like twixtor or optical flow which needs a minimum footage of 60fps, Is it possible to get a HDR for that ? Like If I shoot in 60 fps ML footage for HDR, it gives me 30 fps output. So to get a 60 fps HDR footage for twixtor, I need to shoot 120 fps video which is unavailable in DSLRs. How can we shoo this problem. Please help. Thank You

The solution is to use a slow motion tool that can deal with any frame rate. Final Cut Pro X, Motion and Compressor can do optical flow processing. The catch in this workflow is that they need a file on a hard drive to analyse.

I can make FCPX and Motion produce 15 and 30fps dark and light frame sequences from ML HDR flicker footage, but they won’t produce the intermediate frames unless those sequences are exported to a QuickTime file.

Optical-flow software works better if it has more frames per second to deal with. In FCPX you can slow down any file-based sequence as much as you want. You get better results if there are more source frames to work with.

Remember that once you’ve slowed down a clip with the timing menu, you can also use the same menu to tell FCP X to use Optical flow to analyse the clip.

Thanks a lot Alex for this plugin. I am always so impressed that Magic Lantern always comes up with something new.
I did some tests and I have two issues :
– ghost frames seems to appear on the sides of moving objects
– i am having a hard time producing contrasted images.

great stuff, but i have an issue with trimming the clips: it doesnt work. i can trim the clip, but that just shortens the clip, i cant cut anything off or use blade. i think it has something to do with the ‘replace from start’ command, but im not sure. any ideas?

Hey Alex, I’m new at ML… I have the 60D and am wondering what I set my camera to. In camera, I have 1920×1080 30p and 24p or 1280×720 60p. Could you be specific about what I set my camera to, my project to and which generator to use? Thanks!

HI I’m working on a Mac, and i am new to HDR Video.
How do i convert the lighter and darker images into a HDR Video, i am using FCPX but can’t work out how to combine the darker and lighter images into one HDR video file to bring into FCPX.
Any help would be much appreciated.

Hi Micheal,
first i suggest to download the LAST version of the plugin here https://alex4d.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/alex4d-fcpx-magic-lantern-hdr/
then, be sure you have the Magic lanter firmware in your canon camera and to shoot in HDR mode..
then put the clip on timeline(that will look like a crazy flickering shot) and apply the HDR effect made by alex.
The plugin will over impose one frame over another with different exposure, at this point you should play with the levels and adjustment to decide how much one frame will be revealed on the other.
It s like playing with 2 film frame and putting and overlay them to obtain the best detail and the more complete exposure.
Unfortunately at this stage it is quite complex for me too and i need more practice to understand all the available controls of the plugin.

Hi Alex,
i have previously made a tutorial on your first HDR plugin….
now with you last version it is quite a bit more complicated.
Do you know if there are some tutorial around on how to properly use the last HDR for fcpx plugin?

No prob i can figure it out.
however i think an easy way to have the hdr effect, based on your plugin is to decide through a MASK where and how much (opacity) reveal a frame A over a frame B.

Having a 4 6 or 8 mask points or eliptical mask with selectable feather and opacity shoul be great to apply the over or under exposed frame in the over or under exposed part of the frame where we are working.

Hi Alex,
You mention that you created the HDR plug-in using Motion 5. Will the plug-in work with Motion 5 without FCPX? That wold save me from having to purchase FCPX. Not against FCPX, just trying to save a few bucks as I already have other NLE software.